Children and Television

A lot of parents ask me about whether or not their child should be watching television and how much. This is really tough to answer because television can play an important role in a family. As an educator of course I know children learn best through play, and interactions with people and things in their environment. Here's what we know about children and television, hopefully this information will be helpful for some parents that are considering TV? and how much?...

• The American Academy of Pediatrics began urging parents in a statement from 1999 that children under two years of age not watch ANY television, or any other electronic media
• We know that studies have found a strong correlation between how much television children watch and increased rates of obesity and ADHD
• Research has demonstrated that children can learn from television after multiple viewings but that it takes much longer than interactive learning approaches
• Children in homes where the TV is always on are less likely to read
• Children are quickly spending as much or more time in front of a television than playing outside

Just Something to Think About: I heard the famous pediatrician T. Berry Brazleton speak at the National Association for the Education of Young Children Annual Conference in Chicago about a study on the impact physically to children from watching TV. I couldn't find the specifics of this study again, but I chatted with the other early childhood educators that were with me and here's what we remember: He spoke about a study in which they found children's breathing was accelerated while watching children's programs (perhaps these programs are more overstimulating than we think?). The only children's program that didn't seem to have any impact was Mr. Roger's--a very slow paced program.

So here's just a few things to think about...

• Is it possible for your child under two years of age not to watch television?
• If your child does watch television can you make sure it's only for brief periods of time, or can they watch television with you so that it's an interactive experience (plus, you can insure that the content is appropriate)?
• How often is your child playing outside?
• Is your television always running in the background?
• Does your child have multiple opportunities to look at books and listen to you read books?

For more information check the website www.screentime.org

I would also recommend that any parents seeking information about their children birth to three years of age, check out the Zero to Three website, www.zerotothree.org. Zero to Three is a very reputable organization serving early childhood professionals and parents. Some of my information from this post came from one of their research releases.

Coming Soon: Children and Television

I'm so sorry parents! My daughter has been super sick for, well we're going on eight days now! Is everyone elses little ones sick too?? I've chosen Television as the topic for my next post. I'll get it out soon--I promise!

Melissa

Infant Massage

Parents: I had a few of you ask me about infant massage, which I don't know too much about, but one of our pediatric physical therapists is a certified infant massage therapist. She gave me some information to share and her contact information in case any of you are interested in learning infant massage for you and your baby. She does individual and group lessons in your home!!

Here are some of the benefits of infant massage:

Massage can be useful for helping calm your baby. Massage can also help with relieving gas, colic and constipation. Massage can help your baby sleep better. Massage can be part of the process of building an attachment with your baby because it encourages eye to eye contact, skin to skin contact and the release of the nurturing hormone, Oxytocin. With parental responsiveness, babies can learn early communication during infant massage.

If any of you in the Boise area want to contact Sima about infant massage classes here's her info.

Sima Tavazoie MPT, CIMT

208-870-9746

Simapt@gmail.com

Thanks for the information Sima!!

Behaviors That Challenge

Parents: Here's information from a handout I created for parents about toddlers and challenging behaviors a few years ago...hope it's helpful!!

Toddlers are at a very unique stage of development because they are between complete dependence on others and becoming independent people themselves. With new skills learned such as walking and starting to talk, we often find that toddlers feel they have to over assert their independence. For this reason toddlers often present with behaviors that are challenging for us. It is important at this stage of development to remember that we must support toddlers in this transition to independence while providing boundaries for healthy growth and development. Here’s how…

Positive Language: Many parents get in the habit of saying “no, no, NO!” during the toddler years. For anyone that has spent time with a toddler before, they soon realize that this word also becomes a toddler favorite. To avoid this “no trap” use positive language instead. Redirect the child to something they can do. Avoid using the words: "no" and "don’t." Many of these words become lost on toddlers because they hear them way too often. If a child is in a dangerous situation say, “STOP” with a serious tone of voice, you can sign "stop" as well. This will give a visual and an auditory cue to the child. If you want your child to listen to you in those dangerous situations, it is very important that you only use that serious tone of voice with them when it’s needed. Again, if they hear a loud, serious tone of voice all the time they will start to ignore it.

Redirect: Tell your toddler what they can do (and, yes, there is always something they can do) instead of always telling them what they can’t do. For example: A child throws something that is not supposed to be thrown. Tell the child “I see you need to throw something, here you can throw a ball.”

Validate Children’s Feelings: Toddlers are experiencing a wide range of emotions, often on a daily basis. When your toddler is happy, sad, frustrated, excited, etc. label those emotions for them to hear. Example: “I see you are really excited right now.” This will allow them to express how they are feeling to others later on when they are able to associate specific feelings with that emotional label.

Give Warnings, Follow-Through and be Consistent: Toddlers are constantly testing their boundaries to learn what is appropriate and what is not appropriate. If a child has been redirected, and continues to present with the challenging behavior, let them know if they do it again they will be all done. If they do it again, take away the item, if there is one present, or remove the child from the situation. If you give in one time, and don’t follow-through, your child will try even harder the next time.

Descriptively Reinforce: Remember to tell toddlers what they are doing well, so the only thing they hear isn’t what they shouldn’t be doing. Instead of saying “good job” which makes you the judge of their actions, tell your child exactly what they are doing that you think is good. For example, “I see you are helping pick up all the toys and put them away”. This allows children to start feeling good about what they have done, and builds their internal cues of what is right and wrong, rather then having to be dependent on someone else to let them know if something is right or wrong.

Stay Calm: Toddler’s that have strong attachments to their parent’s or caregivers, are usually looking to those important people to learn how to act. If you are upset and yelling, your child will be upset and yell. Remember that toddlers are not acting out to make us angry; they are simply trying to learn how the world works.

Dealing with Tantrums: It is very common for a toddler to tantrum, especially if they feel a strong emotion that they do not understand yet. Toddlers need this time to release their emotion in a safe place. If a child is tantruming move them to a safe location (the middle of the floor, on the couch, etc.) and remain close, but do not talk or pay much attention to them, until they have calmed down. This way they do not learn that tantrums get you to pay attention to them. When the child is finished with tantruming, allow them to return to an appropriate activity.

Recommended Readings:

Discipline for Life: Getting it Right with Children, By Madelyn Swift

The Emotional Life of the Toddler, By Alicia F. Lieberman, Ph. D.